AndyMcD
Member
I’m considering rescaping my tank and making it lower tech and easier to maintain. Over the past two years, I’ve managed to grow a lot of small leafed Anubias and bucephelandras. However, I’m also doing a fabulous job of growing hair algae.
To keep costs to a minimum, I’d like to recycle the plants. However, I’d ideally like to kill off as much of the algae before adding to the new aquarium.
I’ve had some success in the past of doing a three day blackout, which significantly turned the tide against the hair algae.
If I was to buy new plants via the Internet, they’d be wrapped and in the post for several days. These plants are exposed to the air and seem to do OK.
I was thinking, if I took the plants from my old aquarium, could I do something similar to kill off the algae?
Could I:
- Thiroughly wash them in tap water or a dilution of glutaraldehyde.
- Place them in a container to exclude all light with a small amount of water, to keep humidity high.
- Take the lid off briefly to spray with water and to change the air (access to CO2)
- Approx 3 days later, thoroughly wash in tap water.
Would growing the plants emersed for a period help them to become healthier or would it be better to get them back into the water?
To keep costs to a minimum, I’d like to recycle the plants. However, I’d ideally like to kill off as much of the algae before adding to the new aquarium.
I’ve had some success in the past of doing a three day blackout, which significantly turned the tide against the hair algae.
If I was to buy new plants via the Internet, they’d be wrapped and in the post for several days. These plants are exposed to the air and seem to do OK.
I was thinking, if I took the plants from my old aquarium, could I do something similar to kill off the algae?
Could I:
- Thiroughly wash them in tap water or a dilution of glutaraldehyde.
- Place them in a container to exclude all light with a small amount of water, to keep humidity high.
- Take the lid off briefly to spray with water and to change the air (access to CO2)
- Approx 3 days later, thoroughly wash in tap water.
Would growing the plants emersed for a period help them to become healthier or would it be better to get them back into the water?